STATEMENT BY SENATOR ADDABBO ON THE MAYOR'S TAXI PLAN

My reasoning for voting against Mayor Bloomberg’s Taxi Plan bill (S.5825) is twofold. First, this matter should have been decided or negotiated with the NYC Council. Many state lawmakers, like myself, believe the State Legislature was being used to circumvent the usual City government legislative process pertaining to these types of matters. Second, this bill would not truly benefit my residents and certainly would hurt the livery cab industry much more than helping the yellow cab companies.

I believe that this bill will minimize the value of existing taxi cab medallions by allowing the City to sell 1500 additional medallions to the pubic and would force the livery companies to purchase hail privilege permits for $1,500 to remain competitive with the taxi cabs. I agree with the constituents and businesses that have reached out to me, that this plan did not help them and, therefore, did not merit my support. I also believe that a more appropriate plan can be negotiated in a more transparent and fair manner between the Mayor’s Office and industry representatives to better serve the residents of my district and throughout the city.